Installing Norman Endpoint Protection on Windows 2008 Server Core

Server Core is a minimal server installation option available on the Windows Server 2008 platform or later. Server Core offers a server environment that requires less maintenance, but offers limited functionality. Server Core is significantly scaled back installation where no Windows Explorer shell is installed. All configuration and maintenance are done entirely from the command line and by remote access.

A primary motivation for deploying the Server Core variant of Windows Server 2008 a network is to keep a simpler file server or web server solution available and to reduce the attack surface of the operating system.

If it is not possible to push install Norman Endpoint Protection (NPRO) from Norman Endpoint Manager (NEM), you can use a remote connection for the initial installation.

The following is a sample of how such an installation can be completed. It describes a situation where NEM is unable to push install NPRO onto the Server Core server, and how to use a remote connection to complete the installation.

Within NEM, select Maintenance > Generate MSI

In the MSI path and file name field, enter a name for the MSI file MyServerCore.msi.

Enter the name or an IP address of the server that will later maintain this NPRO Server Core installation. Click Generate

Copy the new MyServerCore.msi file to a share on the Server Core server. To access the Server Core server, start Remote Desktop by selecting Start > Run from Windows and then enter mstsc.exe in the Open field.

From the Remote Desktop Connection dialog, select the name or IP address of the Server Core server.

Log on the Server Core with administrator's credentials

After a successful logon, the Server Core desktop appears. From the command prompt, go to the directory where you originally copied the MSI File

From the command prompt, execute the command to run the MSI file MyServerCore​ and press Enter

Let the installation complete and wait for a few minutes

The Server Core server should now be visible from the NEM console. Click Update Client to make sure that the NEM updates the Server Core components to the latest version